Pepper not eating well *UPDATE* not good

tashakota

The vet suggested she may have some issues with her swallowing muscles, would that be LP?  And the difficulty could make it hard for her to eat and/or cause the hack that she has every now and then.

  It could be LP; that may explain the pneumonia. Jessie coughs after drinking water. We have her water dish elevated to make aspiration less likely; the recent case of aspiration pneumonia was the first one since she started showing symptoms of LP in March of 2009.  When she was on a cooked diet for her pancreatitis, if I made the rice too soft, as in very mushy and sticky, it would make her cough. Other than that, she does fine with food. If eating makes Pepper cough, you can try different foods (dry versus canned) to see what she does best with. LP usually occurs in older, large dogs; Jessie was 10 and a half when she first showed symptoms, but I've heard of a dachshund that had it, so it can happen in smaller dogs too. Here's a few links; Laryngeal paralysis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

                                          Laryngeal Paralysis in Dogs

                                         Laryngeal Paralysis   

                                         Larynx - WSAVA 2005 Congress

  Baytril worked very well for Jessie in clearing up the pneumonia. LP is often part of a neuropathy. Often, a dog with LP will begin to have weakness and lose muscle mass in their rear legs, and the condition will gradually progress from back to front. There are supplements that can help; CoenzymeQ10, extra B vitamins, vitamin E, Lcarnitine, and fish oil. Jessie has been on all of these since the summer of 2009 and has shown no muscle weakness or loss of coordination, but it's possible her LP isn't because of a neuropathy. Your vet may be able to tell if Pepper has LP by sedating her very lightly and looking at her larynx.

tashakota

The vet also took an xray of her abdomen and found that she'd been shot!  At some point in her past before we got her, someone shot her with either buckshot or birdshot or something with small round pellets. :(  I can't believe someone would have shot this sweet dog!!!

 Poor Pepper; people can be so heartless. Someone brought a dog in to my vet that they found; she had been shot in the face. My vet repaired her face with surgery and adopted her; she's a wonderful dog. I'll keep Pepper and Kota in my prayers.

 Biopsy confirms cancer.

The xray below shows very little black on the right side, that's because it's full of cancer.  The left shows a smaller tumor in the lower left.

Biopsy report.

and pictures of her bird shot hind end. :(

Say prayers for my girl.

Leslie, I'm so sorry that the news isn't better.  (((Leslie, Mr. Leslie, & Pepper)))

^^^ ditto what Amanda said.  (((Leslie)))

Leslie, I am so sorry to hear this news.  Prayers for Pepper's comfort. Prayers for you and Mr.Leslie ((hugs))

((((LESLIE))))  I'm so sorry you are dealing with this news.  Do you have a game plan at all? 

My thoughts and prayers are with Pepper and you. 

Johnny&Tessy

((((LESLIE))))  I'm so sorry you are dealing with this news.  Do you have a game plan at all? 

My thoughts and prayers are with Pepper and you. 

 

No game plan yet. Vet said chemo is an option, but she's been showing signs for a month now and one lung looks almost filled with cancer.  DH will let me know later what she says about options.

I just want her to hang on long enough for me to get there and say goodbye.

((((( Leslie )))))

Deb W.

It might be worthwhile to check out the Canine Cancer Yahoo Group.  I've gotten TONNES of help and support there for Tessy!

The best thing to do for now would be to alter the diet and add supplements.  You'd be surprised what these two alone can do for a dog!

 She's been moved to a grain free food, but she's not eating well. So DH has been giving her some Canidae wet food too. She already gets glucosamine and fish oil. The vet suggested herbs and acupuncture if we want.  I'll find out more later.

I read that acupuncture may not be a good idea depending on whether the acupuncturist knows what do with cancer dogs.  I'm definitely up for trying some herbs. 

I'm struggling with thoughts that make me mad. Part of me wants to do whatever we can to help her hang around, but then I think, for what? This is not a dog that likes to *do* things. Her favorite thing is to sleep somewhere out of the way, eat and occasionally engage in some tug. She doesn't like going for walks, or to the dog park. So part of me is like, well if we do all this to give her an extra few months, who is that for?  Us or her?  She's at least 7 (that's how long we've had her) and probably closer to 10 or 11.  If she liked going for walks or hiking or agility or anything other than laying on the couch, I could argue myself into extending it... but really, it's still for me and DH. 

I'm certainly not going to just put her to sleep because of this, and I want to do what ever there is in my power to make her comfortable, but I'm not sure about other options to try and extend her life "just a little longer".

Ugh it makes me feel rotten to think all that too.

I just read threw this thread, Im so sorry about Pepper. Im glad she found you and you have been helping her threw this and you gave her a nice life, I hope everything turms out okay and you have her longer than the doc says.

ETA- In the end for my girl Bug I probably kept her a week longer than I should have but when it really was time I could tell, I think you will knw  when that time comes. (((((((HUGS))))))

Leslie, this is certainly a tough situation, but I know you will ultimately do what is best for Pepper.  Continued thoughts for clarity.

Ugh. I'm so sorry. ((((hugs)))))

 You know, as soon as I read that she had severe allergies, I was going to suggest checking for cancer, but I didn't want to scare you.  My poor Maska had developed allergies too and I didn't make the connection until AFTER I found that another client's dog did the same thing.  But, I'm fairly sure it was related, since he was never a dog that had any immune issues before he reached the age of 9.  I'm so very sorry for your sweet little Pepper because I know how hard it is to get that sudden horrible news.  <<<>>>